Bat Problems

These little brown bats in a New York cave were suffering from a disease scientists have dubbed "white nose syndrome." (NANCY HEASLIP/NEW YORK DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION)

2/28/08 - Local update from the Morning Call: "Bucks County bat cave escaping 'white nose' die-off plaguing Northeast." http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-bats-feb28-cn,0,3013519.story

White Nose Syndrome

Elizabeth Licata’s February 20 post on Garden rant http://www.gardenrant.com/ contained a “scary report” on a mysterious disease that is wiping out bats in the northeast.

According to the Boston News, “In March (2007), officials at the New York Department of Environmental Conservation determined that as many as 11,000 bats had died from the disease, dubbed "white nose syndrome" because of a flaky white fungus on the nose of many of the sick and dead bats.”

"I've studied bats for 40-something years, and I've never seen anything like this; it's alarming," said Thomas Kunz, a preeminent bat researcher at Boston University. "It's frustrating and perplexing, because we don't know what it is and we don't know how to control it."

Kunz and other scientists will be entering New York caves this spring to study the bats.

“There is a lot we don’t know,” said Scott Darling, a wildlife biologist with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. “There is a real threat.”

Although not the most beautiful animal, a quote from "Homeowner’s Guide To Northeastern Bats And Bat Problems", Penn State, College of Agricultural Sciences, Agricultural Research and Cooperative Extension. http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/uh081.pdf

"Bats make good neighbors. As the only major predators of night flying insects, bats play an important role in controlling many insect pests. A single bat can consume as many as 500 insects in just one hour, or nearly 3,000 insects every night. A colony of just 100 little brown bats, the most abundant species in the Northeast, may consume more than a quarter of a million mosquitoes and other small insects each night."

A small animal – a big problem!

Snow

Tired of snow? Me too. I choose to ignore the snow and think about indoor plants, garden catalogues and flower shows.

The coleus cuttings are due to be trimmed for more cuttings. I'll pot them in peat pots so they can go directly into the garden in May.

Fuchsia cuttings grow well under the lights. They are also ready for cuttings.

The rosy amaryllis is ready to bloom.

Pussy Willows produce fuzzy little blooms.

As I continued to ignore the snow, I put through my first garden catalogue order. From Gardener’s Supply – Large Tip Bag, 31" Diameter - “Self-Standing Bags Make Yard Clean-Up Easy”. I borrowed one of these bags last fall for leaf cleanup. It worked so well that I had to have one for myself. They are sturdy and collapse for storage. I also ordered two Drip-it Pro waterers for my container vegetables - ”Two-Week Plant Sitters” according to the catalogue. I’ll let you know how they work out.

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Next month the 36th Annual Lehigh Valley Flower and Garden Show "Tapestry of Green” will be held at the Allentown Fair Grounds Agri-Plex - March 7 to 9. You can print a $1 off coupon and read the press release at http://www.allentowntradeshows.com/html/flower_show.html The press release promises more plants for sale this year.

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The Philadelphia Flower Show "Jazz It Up" takes place March 2 to 9 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. http://www.theflowershow.com/home/index.html According to the promotional material, ' "Jazz It Up" will celebrate the birthplace of jazz and much more, as exhibitors take gardening to the next level with pumped-up versions of New Orleans walled courtyards, cast iron balconies, fountains and canals. If you like music, there will also be the toe-tapping sounds of great Jazz legends.'

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Think spring!

Adventures in Agriculture

February 15, 16, and 17, Palmer Park Mall in Easton hosted “Adventures in Agriculture.” It was sponsored by Penn State Cooperative Extension and Northampton County. The displays covered a wide variety of conservation and agriculture as well as home gardening topics.

Hens, chickens, rabbits, dogs and alpacas grabbed the kid’s attention. Games and prizes were available throughout the mall. 4H members helped the children make silly putty and butter. Other 4H members displayed project rabbits. The soft, cuddly animals begged to be touched. Guide dog handlers answered questions while the kids stroked the young dogs.

Local food was available to taste and buy. Becker Honey Farm, Klein Farms Dairy & Creamery, the old Copella store & farm and Reeder Farms were among the local food vendors. Smith Krekk Alpacas displayed soft and luxurious scarves, gloves, skeins of yarn and alpaca toys while 2 patient alpacas rested in their cage.

Master Gardeners were on hand to help identify the seeds of common vegetables and answer questions about seed starting. Informational sheets included vegetable variety recommendations and seed starting instructions. The display included a soil-less potting mixture and how to make paper pots.

Northampton County Conservation District brochures included “Backyard Conservation.” This colorful brochure highlights “10 conservation activities, adapted from farms and ranches, that can be used in your backyard.” - planting tree windrows, providing wildlife habitats, composting, cover crops, creating a pond, soil testing, terracing, drip irrigation and pest management. More information at USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Feature/backyard/

Other informational displays included Northampton Farm Bureau, RSVP groundwater flow model, Forks of the Delaware Chapter of Trout Unlimited, and Burnside Plantation. Mall stores offered up to 70% off on merchandise. There was something for everyone. Don’t miss it next year.

House Plants

I’m finally out of the closet. The second and final closet is painted.

Recently, Doug Green wrote in his Garden Blog http://blog.douggreensgarden.com/ that he gave away all his house plants before he moved to a new house. Every room in my house contains house plants. Wherever there’s a window, there’s a plant (or two or three).

Doug’s blog got me thinking. I really don’t need all those plants.

Beware of a friend bearing plants! I plan to reduce the number of plants in my house by half.

Spring Planning

I’ve been busy removing wallpaper and painting the inside of a closet the last few days – something I like about as much as having my boot sucked off in a muddy paddock.

I haven’t done a lot of garden related thinking. I did manage to start a list of things I’d like to do this spring.

Plants to divide:

Coral Bells (Micrantha ‘Palace Purple’), Coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata Moonbeam)


Daylilly (Stella D’Oro)

Liriope

Lilly of the Valley

and - mums (Chrysanthemum Koreanum ‘Single Apricot’), Sweet Shrub (Calycanthus floridus), Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum) and zebra grass.

I hope to get at least half of these plants divided and share some with friends. I also started a “to prune” and “to plant” and (best of all) “to buy” list. But before any of that, I have one more closet to paint.

Hemlock

More information and opinion on Hemlock wooly adelgid from Garden Rant writer Susan Harris. Susan also writes Sustainable Gardening Blog and is co-founder of DC Urban Gardeners.

http://www.gardenrant.com/my_weblog/2007/12/god-help-the-ca.html

Coleus

A recent article in American Horticulture Society’s “The American Gardener” magazine is titled “Coleus Comeback” by Ray Rogers.

According to Rogers, “Coleus are more than just simply the darlings of a monomaniacal collector’s eye or quaint Victorian throwbacks for the odd shady corner . . .”

Season-long color, ease of propagation, infinite variety, sun tolerant as well as shade plants, specimen plants or mass planting, upright, mounding, or trailing, in containers or in the garden - what’s not to like? Yes I’m one of those monomaniacal collectors. But, it’s not my fault. My good friend Myra gave me a few plants several years ago and touted their beauty. I’ve been hooked ever since.

I’m seeing a greater variety in local garden centers recently. Dan Scantz Greenhouse donated sun coleus for Musikfest’s Blumenplatz (shown here). ‘Pink Chaos’, ‘Merlin's Magic’, ‘Religious Radish’ and ‘Pele’ created quite a splash of color in the corners of the bed.

I don’t try to remember all the cultivar names. Every supplier seems to have their own set of names.

A Master Gardener once told me square stemmed plants are the easiest to propagate. Most of the coleus have square stems. I usually root them in water then plant them in a mixture of three cups potting soil, one cup vermiculite and one cup peat moss. Sometimes I plant directly in the soil after dipping the stem in rooting hormone.

I clean all the pots in the summer in 1 to 9 solution of chlorine bleach to water and rinse thoroughly. I’ve lost about 15 to 20 percent this year. Mostly to damping off. I think I just don’t pay enough attention to the potted plants and probably overwater or overcrowd the trays. But every year I end up with 60 to 80 plants for the garden and friends.

I’ve been browsing through Rosy Dawn online catalog. Oh my, temptation! http://www.rosydawngardens.com/


See posts – 12/29/06, 5/8/07, 5/26/07, 7/11/07, 8/18/07, 10/20/07, 1/5/08

Hemlock

Hemlock Wooly Adelgid (Adelges tsugae Annand) has become a problem in eastern Pennsylvania forests.

Penn State Department of Entomology fact sheet: "The most obvious sign of a hemlock woolly adelgid infestation is the copious masses of white filaments of wax produced by females. These "cottony" masses normally persist throughout the season and into the following year, even after the insects are dead”. http://www.ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/hemlockwoolly.htm

Our 35-year-old hemlocks are about 70 feet tall. (see picture below) That’s too large for me to spray with insecticidal soap. I’m keeping an eye on them. Hopefully, they will last another 35 years.

Here are a two sites that illustrate the difficulty of control.

USDA Forest Service “An Exotic Pest Threat to Eastern Hemlock: An Initiative for Management of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid” http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/hwa/pub/hwa_mgt_plan.pdf

Save Our Hemlocks Action Team http://www.saveourhemlocks.org/controls/my_prop.shtml

Hemlock

Snow on the Hemlocks - 1/19/08

God made snowy days so gardeners could get the housework done.

Heron

Snack attack?

Over the weekend our neighborhood was visited by what I believe was a heron. It was strange to see a huge bird fly to the top of a neighbor’s house.

There are several ponds in the neighborhood. I guess this bird is looking for a tasty Koi.

Bougainvillea

From April 18, 2007 post: “The Bougainvillea is blooming in my living room”

Well, it’s starting to blooming again. This plant started life in my house as a small plant in a 3" pot. I brought it home from the Philadelphia Flower Show about 8 to 10 years ago. It is now 4 to 5 feet tall in a 15" pot.

I don’t know why it keeps growing. I put it out on the deck in the summer and feed it sometimes. It’s full of thorns and grows over the sofa and into the corner hutch. Getting it outside is a mess. It lives on a wheeled wooden caddy. I try not to get falling leaves all over the house or poke my eye out when I drag it outside. Every year I say I’m not going to bring in again. Every fall I drag it back to the living room.

I grew a cutting a few years ago. One winter the cutting got stuck behind some other house plants and I forgot to water it. End of plant.

It usually doesn’t bloom in the summer. According to Plant Answers http://www.plantanswers.com/bouganvilia.htm , it is a heavy feeder. Maybe I’ll feed it more this summer to see if I can get it to bloom outside. I'm sure it's pot bound but I’m not about to try to re-pot the monster. Maybe I won’t bring it in next fall.

Garden Book

The Organic Gardener’s Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control, edited by Barbara W. Ellis and Fern Marshall Bradley. 1996 Rodale Press, Inc.

I’m enjoying browsing through this Christmas gift. You need to be really, really interested in gardening to stay with this book. Realizing that it is a reference book, I found the identification parts of the book the most valuable. I’m not so sure about the recommended controls.

The “Problem-Solving Plant Guide” starts with a plant description. The by-plant section includes flowering plants, shrubs, vegetables and fruits. Then, a list of problems the plant may have ends with page number for control information.

The section, “Insects. Recognizing Your Friends – Eliminating Your Foes,” includes everything from aphids to yellow jackets. The illustrations are small but each insect is accompanied by 2 to 6 pictures. Each insect section includes Description, Life Cycle, Beneficial Effect or Damage Control or How to Attract. The life cycle information is important since some insects can only be controlled at a specific stage of life. It’s nice to have this information in one book.

The book continues with “Diseases and Organic Controls” again with pictures. Type of Problem, Symptoms, Plants Affected, and Prevention and Control for each disease is listed.

Most of the general advice is not something we haven’t heard before. Use disease resistant plants. Clean up plant debris. Prune to insure good air flow. Eliminate weeds. Select the right plant for the space. Use compost and mulch. – a brief synopsis of good advice.

It’s a good reference book and reads like, well, a reference book. I’ll have to force myself to read through some sections. Maybe I’ll read “Diseases. Identifying the Cause – Implementing the Cures” during the next snow storm - unless Dan Brown writes a new book.

A Gardener’s Christmas

All I need is a few garden gifts and life is good.

Please add a comment and share the gifts you received for your garden this season.

Christmas Cactus - 2

Schlumbergera

Some of my Christmas cacti may actually be Thanksgiving cactus. The white blooming plant from December 1, 2007 post always blooms in November. I call them all Christmas cactus because I’m too lazy to make a distinction.

In early December, the red-orange flowering Christmas cactus started to bloom. The leaves are wider and thicker than my other cacti. This year it had a few large blooms.

I’ve had the traditional red Christmas cactus for many years. I received the original plant from my aunt. By cutting a length of a few leaves and rooting in potting soil, I’ve grown new plants to give away. They are very easy to propagate.

After blooming, the plants take a rest. In May, I will trim all the cacti and set them outside in a shady area. They seem to like being pot bound. I may repot and prune the roots once a decade. I fertilize about every two weeks in summer using Miracle Gro or Fish Emulsion. In late August, I bring them in and set them in a sunny window. The room is cool and gets very little artificial light. They bloom reliably each year.

For more information see Purdue Ext Christmas Cactus FAQ http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/cactusFAQs.html

Garden 2007

Winners

The soil tests were easy to do. (see September 29, 2007 post) The results for the lilac/shade garden bed) were the most interesting. Calcium and Magnesium are way above optimum. Soil pH, Phosphate and Potash are below optimum. Recommended fertilization: “Apply 3.5 lbs. per 100 square feet of 5-10-10 and 0.5 lbs. per 100 square feet of 0-46-0.” I will continue to add compost and mulch to this bed and fertilize in spring. Hopefully, this will make a difference since this garden is starting to look a little sad. Now I know where to start.

The “Circle Garden”, put in to enhance the shape of the steps from the deck, is beginning to fill in. I like the plan this year – outside edge line Elijah blue fescue; next line grey Dusty Miller; then euonymus and an inside row of sweet alyssum. (see April 15, 2007 post). In another few years it should be perfect. Photos below compare the garden from August 2006 to July 2007. Gardening surely takes patience.

I shared some plants this year with community gardens, herb society, and with friends. It is very satisfying to find a use for surplus plants.

Old reliable winners

I have heard some gardeners say they get tired of their old plants. I will never tire of these old, reliable inhabitants in my garden.

Crocus - energizing a new season --- Azalea – riot of color

Columbine – simple and prolific --- Roses - fragrance and bloom

Coleus – a bright spot wherever they are

2007 Garden

As I looked through the garden photos from 2007, I found some winners and some losers and a few that were a little of both.

Losers

The pot of Double Flowering Tuberose (Polianthea tuberosa) did not bloom (again). I promised myself if there were no blooms in 2007, they would be compost. But, I've the pot away for the winter (again). (see December 29, 2006 post). We’ll see. I get plenty of green leaves and lots of new bulbs each year, but no blooms. I don't know if I'm ready to give up the challenge.

Lobelia 'Crystal Palace' started with a few pretty, bright blue flowers in a pot with zinnias. They never developed into much. I’m not sure if it was the competition from the zinnias or the shade from the zinnias or the hot, dry summer. I've tried nasturtiums and petunias in the bottom of this patio pot. Neither one worked very well. I’ll be looking for a different cascading plant this spring. I may try some of the bright sweet potato vines.

In the middle

Container Vegetables. The cucumber (Bush Champion) plants produced a normal amount of cukes before they were overcome with mildew. I may try a mildew resistant variety this year. The beans (Kentucky Wonder) were a success producing beans into fall. But, keeping the containers watered was a problem in the hot, dry summer. I will be researching watering methods and gadgets this winter.

Making aerobic compost tea was easy enough to do. (see July 7, 2007 and August 8, 2007 posts) I think I got some good results on the roses. I’m not sure how valuable it is as a soil amendment. I’ll be trying it on a portion of the lawn next spring. At the very least, I got to stretch my valuable compost a little further.

Sweet Pea (Sweet Dreams & Streamers Mix) took a long time to germinate. Half of them turned brown and withered. The other half produced a fair amount of flowers. The flowers were almost exclusively lilac colored with few exceptions. There was no noticeable fragrance.

I’ll get to the winners next time.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Merry Christmas

and Happy New Year!